Anssi Koivuranta (FIN) wins Nordic Combined World Cup

Tue, Mar  17, 2009 - By FIS

Bill Demong (USA) celebrated his fifth World Cup victory in this season in Vikersund on Sunday, meanwhile the eight place was enough for Anssi Koivuranta (FIN) to let him put his hands on the crystal globe, the prize for the overall DKB FIS Nordic Combined World Cup winner.

After the ski jumping portion, Austria's Christoph Bieler (115.5 meters/131.8 points) was in the lead; on the track, he was caught in the third lap by Bill Demong and Petter Tande (NOR), who finished first and second. Winning in Vikersund brought the "Kings Trophy" in the hands of theAmerican. Mikko Kokslien (NOR) got third place coming from far behind. He was only 34th after the jumping, had a 1:32 minute disadvantage but registered with 25:09.9 minutes the fastest cross-country time.

The duel between Anssi Koivuranta and Magnus Moan (NOR), which was decided de facto on Saturday, found an unspectacular end. Koivuranta jumped well as usual, started from the fourth position and came in eight. Moan was 43rd after the jumping and finished 13th.

In the final overall World Cup rankling, Koivuranta finished first (1461 points) in front of Magnus Moan (NOR/1350), Bill Demong (1160), Bjoern Kircheisen (GER/957), Jason Lamy Chappuis (FRA/806) and Mario Stecher (AUT/630). Germany is this year's winner of the Nation Cup (3402 points) in front of Norway (3344) and Austria (2989).